Make Sure Your Loved One Gets the Best Home Health Care

When your loved one is no longer able to be independent at home, it may be time to consider home care. It can be tempting to hire a private home care aide to look after your loved one but there are many benefits to using the services of a professional home care agency.

Home Care Agency

Getting a CNA from a home care agency ensure you are getting someone who has been thoroughly vetted. This individual’s qualifications and experience have been checked and verified by the agency so you can feel confident they are able to provide quality care to your loved one.

Another benefit is that the agency is the CNA’s employer so you and your loved one do not have to carry additional insurance to cover possible worker injury and if there is a personality conflict, you do not have to address it with the home care aide directly. You can go through the home care agency and they will address it and if necessary, replace that aide with someone better suited to meet your needs.

What to Look for When Hiring a Home Care Agency

One of the main things to consider, which is often over looked, is your loved one’s personal preferences. Would they prefer a caregiver of a certain gender or race? Do they want someone who speaks a particular language? The home health aide will spend quite a bit of time with your loved one so you want them to be ideally matched.

Think specifically about what sort of help is needed. Will the aide be required to do household chores? Can your loved one perform grooming and bathing functions independently or will they require assistance from the aide? Think about whether or not the aide will have to provide meals or give medication support. All of these things should be considered when deciding which home care service to employ.

Ask the agency what hours they provide assistance. If you work nights, can they provide someone who can be there all night and possibly on weekends? Is there a minimum or maximum number of hours that the home care aid can work?

Also, ask about things like quality control. How does the home care agency know their aides are doing a good job? How do they handle complaints? If the aide is ill or does not show up, how long does it take to send a substitute? How do they handle issues that arise with the aide?

Ask other questions, such as how does the agency handle holidays and can they provide transportation to doctor appointments? The home care aide should be able to increase your loved one’s quality of life so ask what sort of activities they will do with your elderly loved one. Will they play games and encourage exercise? Will they engage in conversation?

Ask these questions and more when you are considering hiring a home care aide and it will help ensure you get the best possible service for your loved one.